I'm super excited to play with this book! There's no deadline or particular order to complete the book, so I'll be periodically sharing journal entries. I loved doodling and writing in my journals as a teen, I still have a few journals from my early twenties which are hilarious to read cause I was always agonizing over something dumb. I would love Liv to one day start a journal. In the blogger/twitter world of today, handwriting in a book is becoming a lost art form. Her new school even works on ipads. One day when she's older she can read mine and laugh at what a dork her Mommy was.

Friday, August 30, 2013

Here's the entire series. I had a blast doing this challenge. I tried to push myself to learn how to use my different cameras in a more creative and professional manner. I played with props and locations. I didn't cheat using any filters or changing the lighting. I used *a beautiful mess app* to add the lettering.

Most of the photos were taken by me, using my Nikon D3000 SLR camera. I also used my Nikon J1 and my iphone 5. I hope some of you were able to play along. Antz said next time he's going to compete against me, and knowing his level of creativity, he'd beat me for sure. I couldn't have done it without him, thanks for your creative direction and artistic eye!

self-portrait *yikes, I've come a long way in 30 days!* taken with iphone 5

what you wore today taken with iphone 5

clouds taken with iphone 5

something green *our bedroom wall* taken with Nikon J1

from a high angle taken with Nikon D3000

from a low angle taken with Nikon D3000

fruit *delicious pluots* taken with Nikon J1

a bad habit *potty mouth* taken with iphone 5

someone I love taken with iphone 5

a childhood memory *having tea parties in my room* taken with iphone 5

something blue *I took a picture of a my passport photo* taken with Nikon J1

I learned how important the right lighting is, how to think outside of the box for
photo shoots and how to set up my camera for the desired effect *except using a bokeh lens, I sucked at that!* I totally have this
on my Christmas list, so I'll have a chance to try it again. I also
learned that it takes time to get the best photo, I was too used to rushing and
not prepared to get the results I wanted, so I'm planning my photos in
advance from now on. I also must take my Nikon D3000 in for service, that guy has been wonky ever since I dropped it *3 or 4 times, I'm a klutz*
and the interior lens needs cleaning. I had the most fun working
outdoors with that camera. In the right sunlight, it works like a dream.
My Nikon J1 is best for movement shooting. I can use it at night and it's
the simplest to use. My iphone 5 camera has it's benefits too. It's
lightweight and works best for close ups. I liked not relying on filters
to improve my photos *with exception to the black and white* It forced me to work to get the best shot. During this 30 photo series, I took hundreds of photos. It was a fun exercise and made me fall in love with photography. I hope to continue learning and pushing myself outside of my comfort zone.

I tried to re-create the original self portrait I took with my iphone, thirty days ago when I was rushing out the door to pick up Liv from school. I didn't think about lighting, or using my best angles or even looking happy. I stood in front a my favorite painting Antz made for me, half-assed smiled and hoped that I wouldn't show my double chin.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Tonight we went to one of our favorite farmers markets in South Pasadena. We shared a rainbow snowie which was heaven!! Perfect place to say goodbye to summer *even though it was 94° at 7pm*

South Pas is the last Mayberry, it's such a charming town with lovely buildings and Craftsman homes.

I really want a clock in our new park in Highland Park

Worth the 20 minute wait!

Tomorrow is the last day of my challenge! I'm excited to show you a
recap of my 30 days. It really was a challenge to commit to doing it
everyday *which is harder than you think* and coming up with creative photos. I stepped outside of my comfort zone and I hope the quality of my photos continue to improve.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

These are one of my favorite flowers. They are inexpensive, I picked up two bunches for $6 last week when I was at the Flowermart getting flowers for the Diner en Blanc and they last for weeks. I love how simple they look in Liv's milk bottle vase.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

I love driving through downtown LA at night. The sidewalks are vacant and you feel like certain parts of the city are abandoned. There's tons of light and fountains between Grand and Hill Street. I stood on the top of stairs looking east 3 blocks towards City Hall to get this shot. The new Grand park is one of my favorites but sadly free parking during the day is nonexistent. I can't believe how fast August has sped by, I'm down to my last 3 photo challenges!

I found out about Le Dîner en Blanc while browsing Pinterest about 2 years ago. Then I read this post by Jordan at Oh Happy Day. I made it one of my Life List goals to attend le Dîner en Blanc in Paris. Well, since I'm not going to Paris this year, I was excited to discover Los Angeles would be having their first annual diner so I registered on their site. I ended up not getting an invitation but I was able to sign up as a volunteer. This gave me membership *for free* and the opportunity to invite a few friends. It was difficult to set everything up but everything fell into place *despite shoegate*

Antz and I worked hard getting all the dinner items we would need and making my amazing headpiece and cute birdie boutonniere.

This headpiece was huge and HEAVY. I had a battery pack on there for the lights. We had to secure it with hundreds of bobby pins

Look how adorable Antz birdie boutonniere turned out. He made that top hat!

Since I was a leader, I was privy to find out the city the venue would be located but not the address. Anthony told me his guess was Rodeo Drive since it's so iconic. I thought it would be at a park to accommodate such a large crowd, so I guessed either Greystone Mansion or Beverly Hills park. As always, Antz was right, we arrived right on time at Rodeo Drive which was blocked off to cars for the event. We had one of the best spots for the dinner right near the DJ booth and close to the center of everything. The moment we got off the bus, I met the founder of the event François Pasquier, his wife and his son Aymeric who came in from Paris and Montreal. They were so gracious and kind. François attempted to talk to me in broken English and I made a terrible attempt at French but we communicated best in Spanish. This again confirms how much I suck at French and that I must learn the language I want my child to become fluent in.

I love them, they were so sweet!

Aymeric is a sweetheart, he's so cute!

We set up quickly and the dinner began. Our table was amazing, everyone looked great and the table settings were lovely. I was so happy my friends Warren & Kim and Jihan & Jennifer were able to be there with me. The band performing during dinner was rad! The singer had a beautiful voice and she covered Amy Winehouse and Portishead. We had a delightful meal, I drank too much wine and we all danced. The white mustaches turned out perfect for photos and we took tons of pictures, posed for tourists, guests and the media. I posed for so many cameras my neck was hurting. You can even catch a second of us on the ABC and CBS news. I had the time of my life. I met such wonderful people and we rocked out to a guy playing electric saxophone! I can't wait to go next year and hopefully attend Le Dîner en Blanc in Paris soon. My incredibly talented friend Jennifer took these lovely photos.

I love how rad our mustaches turned out

Jihan, Jennifer, Me, Antz, Kim & Warren

Me & my hot date!

Our table

Since there were so many great pictures, I put together this slideshow that covers the evening. Enjoy!

Hello!

Welcome to my blog. I'm married to Antz, we have a lovely four year old daughter and a giant cat named Lola. We live in a California bungalow in hipster Highland Park, Northeast Los Angeles. I have a cosmetology license but now I stay home playing with Liv.

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Welcome to My Life List

Here is my *overly ambitious* list of things I hope to accomplish during my lifetime. Some of these are total dreams of mine that may be far-fetched but others are quite possible and I am currently in the process of completing.